Muslim Politicians Face Islamophobic Attacks in NYC Mayoral Race

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Muslim Politicians Face Islamophobic Attacks in NYC Mayoral Race

By Daisy Khan

Jul 22, 2025

When Zohran Mamdani won New York's Democratic mayoral primary, his victory should have sparked debates about housing policy, transit improvements, and childcare solutions. Instead, his Muslim faith became the central focus of a vicious campaign designed to disqualify him from office based on religious identity rather than political positions. This disturbing pattern represents a familiar playbook that has been weaponized against Muslim Americans seeking leadership roles for decades.

Dr. Daisy Khan understands this reality better than most. As a respected interfaith dialogue advocate and author who faced similar attacks and Death Threats in 2010 during her proposal for a community center in Lower Manhattan, Khan brings unique insight into the systematic challenges facing Muslim Americans in public life. Her extensive work building bridges between communities and her firsthand experience with Islamophobic campaigns make her uniquely qualified to analyze what's happening to Mamdani and its broader implications for American democracy.

In this latest episode of Wise Women with Daisy Khan, Dr. Khan joined by research specialist Susanna Keiserman to dissect the dangerous rhetoric targeting Mamdani and expose how these attacks represent something far more sinister than typical political opposition. Their conversation reveals that this campaign represents a calculated effort to maintain fear-based narratives about Islam while preventing Muslim Americans from achieving true integration into American political leadership.

The Familiar Playbook of Political Islamophobia

The attacks against Mamdani follow a predictable pattern that Khan recognizes from her own experience and that of other Muslim Americans who have dared to seek positions of influence. Rather than engaging with his detailed policy proposals on rent stabilization, affordable childcare, and public transit, opponents have focused exclusively on stoking fear about his religious background and immigration history.

Khan explains that this approach serves a specific purpose beyond merely defeating one candidate. These tactics are designed to keep alive the narrative that Muslims must be feared, that they represent dangerous outsiders who cannot be trusted with American institutions. A Muslim mayor focused on practical urban issues like housing costs and transportation doesn't fit the preferred narrative of the threatening foreigner, so opponents work to demonize and disqualify him before voters can evaluate his actual agenda.

The strategy reveals itself as particularly insidious because it transforms faith into a political liability. When religious identity becomes grounds for disqualification from public service, it undermines the constitutional principles of religious freedom that supposedly define American democracy. This approach sends a clear message to Muslim Americans that they should remain grateful for tolerance rather than expecting full equality and participation in civic leadership.

Breaking Down Anti-Muslim Political Tropes

The specific accusations leveled against Mamdani follow well-established patterns that Khan has studied extensively through her interfaith work. The "Sharia law hysteria" represents perhaps the most effective fear-mongering tool, despite being completely disconnected from reality. This tactic works by exploiting public ignorance about Islamic religious practice, suggesting that a Muslim in office would somehow impose religious law on non-Muslim constituents.

Khan describes how absurd these accusations become when examined closely. The suggestion that Mamdani would force New Yorkers to pray five times daily, fast during Ramadan, or make Christmas illegal reveals the fundamental disconnect between these fears and actual Islamic teachings about respecting the law of the land. Yet these accusations persist because they tap into existing anxieties about religious difference and cultural change.

The terrorism allegations represent an even more cruel dimension of this playbook. Khan notes that connecting any Muslim to terrorism based solely on religious identity constitutes one of the most damaging forms of character assassination available. These attacks work backward from identity, meaning that the moment someone is identified as Muslim, they become viewed as a potential national security threat regardless of their actual beliefs, actions, or commitments to peaceful civic engagement.

The Personal Cost of Public Islamophobia

Beyond the political implications, Khan emphasizes the exhausting personal toll these campaigns exact on Muslim Americans who choose public service. The constant requirement to prove loyalty, patriotism, and basic humanity creates an additional burden that other candidates never face. Muslim politicians must simultaneously develop policy positions while defending their right to exist in American public life.

Khan's own experience during the 2010 community center controversy provides insight into this psychological pressure. Being accused of wanting to destroy American values while actually working to build interfaith understanding and counter extremism created a painful contradiction. The irony of having one's entire life work toward peace and integration dismissed as evidence of dangerous intent represents a particularly cruel form of character assassination.

The attacks also extend beyond the individual targets to affect entire families and communities. Khan describes how these high-profile campaigns create ripple effects of fear and discouragement throughout Muslim American communities. Young people watching these attacks unfold receive clear messages about the price of political ambition for Muslims, potentially discouraging future generations from pursuing public service careers.

Defending Democracy Through Policy-Focused Debate

The most significant casualty of these Islamophobic campaigns may be substantive democratic discourse itself. Khan argues that when political conversations center on religious identity rather than policy proposals, American voters lose the opportunity to evaluate candidates based on their actual plans and qualifications. This represents a fundamental corruption of the democratic process that harms everyone, regardless of religious background.

Mamdani's detailed proposals for addressing New York's affordability crisis deserve serious examination and debate. His plans for rent stabilization could significantly impact middle-income families being priced out of the city. His childcare initiatives might provide relief for working parents struggling with astronomical costs. His transit improvements could affect millions of daily commuters. Yet these substantive issues get overshadowed by manufactured controversies about his religious practice.

Khan suggests that this pattern reveals something deeper about American political culture's relationship with diversity and inclusion. When opponents cannot effectively challenge a candidate's policy positions, they resort to attacking identity as a disqualifying factor. This approach not only undermines the targeted individual but degrades the entire political process by substituting fear-mongering for substantive policy analysis.

Key Warning Signs of Islamophobic Political Attacks:

References to "Sharia law" without any connection to actual policy positions
Attempts to connect candidates to terrorism based solely on religious identity
Questions about loyalty or belonging that other candidates never face
Focus on immigration background rather than policy qualifications
Suggestions that religious practice makes someone unfit for office
Calls for investigation or deportation without evidence of wrongdoing

Moving Forward with Courage and Clarity

The response to these attacks will determine not just Mamdani's political future but the broader question of whether America can live up to its stated principles of religious freedom and equal opportunity. Khan argues that this moment represents a test for all Americans, not just the Muslim community, about what kind of democracy we want to maintain.

Supporting candidates like Mamdani requires moving beyond tolerance toward actual inclusion, judging leaders by their character and policy proposals rather than their prayer schedules or places of worship. This shift demands courage from voters, media figures, and political leaders who must choose between perpetuating fear-based narratives and embracing the diversity that could strengthen American democratic institutions.

The stakes extend far beyond one mayoral race. If religious identity can be successfully weaponized to disqualify qualified candidates, it sets a precedent that threatens the political participation of all minority communities. Khan's analysis suggests that defending Mamdani's right to be judged on his merits represents a defense of democratic principles that benefit everyone.

The conversation featured on Wise Women with Daisy Khan reminds us that confronting Islamophobia requires more than good intentions. It demands active engagement with the specific tactics being used, clear understanding of what's at stake, and commitment to evaluating political candidates based on their qualifications rather than their faith. As this campaign unfolds, Americans have the opportunity to choose between fear-based politics and the inclusive democracy our founding principles promise. The choice we make will echo far beyond New York City's borders.

Take Action Against Political Islamophobia

The attacks on Zohran Mamdani represent a critical moment that demands active participation from all Americans who believe in religious freedom and democratic principles. This isn't just about one candidate or one election - it's about the kind of country we choose to become. Every voter, regardless of religious background, has the power to reject fear-based politics and demand substantive policy debates instead of religious discrimination.

Start by educating yourself about the actual policy positions of candidates in your local elections. Share factual information about Islamophobic tactics with friends and family members who might be influenced by fear-mongering campaigns. Contact local media outlets when you see biased coverage that focuses on religious identity rather than qualifications and policy proposals. Support organizations working to combat religious discrimination in politics through donations or volunteer work.

Most importantly, vote in every election and encourage others to participate in the democratic process. The power to reject candidates who use religious discrimination as a campaign strategy lies with informed voters who prioritize character and policy over fear and division. By choosing inclusion over exclusion and substance over sensationalism, we can ensure that America's political landscape reflects our highest values rather than our deepest prejudices.

This is Wise Women with Daisy Khan – because every story matters. The journey ends not with what we acquire but with what we become. The qualities that sustain us through difficulty often become the very gifts we offer to the world. For more such inspiring stories and discussion, like, follow, and connect with Dr Daisy Khan

Connect with Dr Daisy Khan and Wise Women Podcast:

Website: https://daisykhan.com/

https://wisewomenwithdaisykhan.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drdaisykhan/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@WiseWomenwithDaisyKhan

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wisewomenwithdaisykhan/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576656401275

Connect with Susanna Keiserman:

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanna-keiserman-56045b344/

Links featured in the Blog:

https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/united-states/who-is-zohran-mamdani-the-muslim-socialist-set-to-make-nyc-mayoral-history/

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly2rgzye9no